Control
by thepineandthestar
Summary: In each person, there are inner demons. We try so hard to keep them in so that no one would see, so that no one would notice. But all it takes is one push to open the doors and let them out. Well, it isn't their fault then.


"You can do it, you can do it, you can do it!" Alya told her friend giddily as the friend shook slightly due to nervousness

"I-I don't know, Alya, maybe this isn't such a good idea," Marinette, the friend, said, frowning

"It is, girl! It's been a year and you can't possibly have any other day to tell it to him than the exact anniversary of your crush for him!" Alya exclaimed

"But Alya," she whined, "this is serious business. He might reject me or worse!"

The worst case scenario, which was Adrien laughing at her face because of her confession and telling it to his other rich, popular, and good-looking model friends that some loser had told him that she loved him, struck her like a freight train.

"Alya I can't do this!" Marinette hid behind her friend, "He'll laugh at me with his other model friends! It'll be the death of me!"

Alya chuckled a bit, "I'm sorry but are we really talking about the same person, here?"

"Let's just go home," Marinette muttered

"No way, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, we are not leaving the school grounds until you tell that boy that you like him!" Alya ordered, "If he doesn't like you back, then that's that. At least you're clear and you're open to finding someone better."

Marinette groaned, "Fine, fine, fine. But what if-."

"We're done with the ifs, we're thinking whens," Alya interrupted then pushed her friend towards the direction of the blond, "I wish you the best of luck, Mari!"

"I wish that too," Marinette whispered then trotted over to the blond

"H-hey, Adrien!" Marinette waved timidly

"Hi, Mari." Adrien gave her a small smile

"So, I, uh, I was, you know, wondering," she started

"Gotta go, bro, see you tomorrow," Nino interrupted then left

"What was it, Marinette?"

"I, uh," she gulped down every single bit of shame, "I kinda have, I mean, like I you," she groaned, "I like you, Adrien."

Adrien's smile faltered. He stared at the beet red face of the girl in front of him. She couldn't look straight, deeming it better to look at the ground.

"Marinette?" He started in a soft and mellow voice, putting a hand to her shoulder which made the girl look up, "I'm, I'm sorry. You're a great girl, really, and I'm sure that you'll find someone as great as you but," he frowned, "but it's not me."

Marinette felt her heart break into tiny million pieces. So much for 'finding out then moving on if ever'. She felt tears prick at the sides of her eyes. She tried her best to not show the tears and did so successfully. It was going to be fine. She wasn't humiliated like what her worst case scenario showed.

"I like someone else," he continued

 _That_ was a slap to her face. She didn't mind that Adrien didn't like her back but she did mind it that there was someone else taking Adrien's attention.

"Adrikins!" They both turned to Marinette's right and saw Chloé run to the blond, "Oh, and it's Trashinette. What do you want?"

"Chloé." Adrien sighed, "I'm really sorry, Marinette."

"N-No, no it's okay." She forced up a smile, "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow, okay?"

"See you tomorrow, Mari." He smiled at her

She nodded then turned around, walking with her head down. She bit her lip as she suppressed the pain that had been killing her. She never knew how painful it was to be rejected not because of herself but because someone else was there first. She hated it, feeling the sorrow in the pit of her stomach.

She heard Alya call to her as Marinette passed by her. She didn't turn to the girl. It was devastating, really, that a crush had turned Paris' hero into something weak and feeling useless. She just wanted to stay in her room and cry her heart out. That would be easier.

So she ran. She ran and ran and ran until she could feel her tears streaming down her face. She ran until she entered the backdoor of the café. She ran until she reached her room, slammed the door shut, and ran up to her bed. She curled in on herself, bringing her knees to her chin, hugging herself.

She could hear the knocks on her door but she didn't give them the chance to comfort her. She just wanted to be alone.

"Marinette?" A soft, calming voice sounded

Only this time, it wasn't calming.

"I don't want to talk about it," Marinette replied

The kwami sat on the girl's bed, watching helplessly as her holder sobbed her heart out.

"E-Everything's a mess!" Marinette cried, "Adrien doesn't like me, Chloé makes fun of me, I'm probably never going to be a designer."

"Don't say that, Mari," Tikki spoke, "Good luck will come to you."

"Ha, as if being an epitome of good luck gave it," Marinette stated, "I, Tikki, I just." Tears, that have subsided, came back, "What is wrong with me? Is-, am I damaged? Is it because I'm clumsy? Do I not look good?"

Tikki could only feel bad for Marinette. If there was some way to get the girl's bad luck, she would do it. The kwami was about to speak again when she saw something emerging from the window. It passed through the glass and fluttered towards Marinette, the flapping of its light wings too loud for Tikki.

"Marinette! Akuma!" Tikki yelled

Tikki flew quickly to Marinette's right earring, forcing herself in to merge as Ladybug. She did so successfully, only a little bit too late.

Marinette looked up then saw everything fade to black. Then there was soft purple pulsing in front of her. She felt heavy and, if dark could be felt, then she was sure that this was that feeling. It felt suffocating, like something was holding her tight. It didn't exactly feel welcoming either. Something travelled to her heart and it was enveloping it. It felt like good dripping over her body, eating up her whole system.

But nothing felt wrong to it. It felt absolutely right and all the pain of rejection and mockery was subsiding. It was gone before Marinette could say that it was. She felt content as if there was nothing wrong but there was and something in her mind told her that _she_ was the one going wrong.

 _"Rejected by the crush and crushed by the one who was always rejected,"_

There was a voice that was so comforting as if that voice knew what she had been through, what she had felt.

It was smooth and soothing and it felt like it was brushing away all her problems. The voice was familiar, however, only it sounded in another sense, in another manner. She knew she heard that voice but it was different this time around. This voice was the epitome of something that cared for her, something that mourned for her. This voice sounded as if it knew what to do and how to help Marinette. She wanted help, right? And from this voice that she couldn't be mistaken for something else, she knew that she could get the help that she wanted and desperately needed.

 _"I'm here to help you in all your misfortune,"_ it continued

Yes it did want to help her. But at what cost? Marinette shook that thought out of her head. She would giveeverything to get that help that would resolve everything.

" _I am Hawkmoth, Miss Fortune, and I will help you get revenge. In return, you will give me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses."_

Oh no she _did_ know that voice. It was Hawkmoth's, her enemy's. She wanted to pull back from the evil forming inside but…

But what has the good ever done to her? To Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Did it help her get Adrien? Did it help her stop Chloé's constant bullying? Did it help with her misforune?

It didn't.

And that was all that mattered now.

With a smirk, Marinette nodded, "Yes, Hawkmoth."

Marinette felt something covering her from her neck to her feet. She felt something covering the spaces around her eyes too. Then when she opened her eyes, she could feel the weight of her earrings, definitely where the akuma was. But she couldn't care. All those months playing hero gave her nothing in return. Normally, nothing would be enough for her but this time? This time she had had enough.

She already had half of the deal done, considering that the earrings were hers. Now she just had to find Chat Noir and boy was he gullible.

Marinette jumped out of the door above her bed and used her yoyo to swing over Paris. She'd found her while he was on patrol. He didn't see her coming, seeing as her usual red colored clothing turned to black.

She knew that if Chat knew about someone wreaking havoc, he'd stop it with or without his partner, that was their usual routine. Now it was different. Miraculouses now, mischief later.

"Chat," she started as she walked on a ledge on the Eiffel Tower

His head turned to her and saw her figure stalking to him.

"My," he furrowed his brows as her new persona stepped into the light, "Lady? What happened, Ladybug?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, "I just transformed then, poof! Changed Ladybug."

She sat next to him and watched the city with all the lights looking like little dots, showing the city. She used to love the peace. Well, after getting Chat's miraculous, it was going to be mayhem which she loved more.

She looked at the boy, watching him and every element of his suit. Could the miraculous be his cat ears? No, too impossible. His belt? Probably. His bell? That was good too. Her eyes hovered to his right ring finger.

 _Bingo._

She sat on his opposite side then placed her head on his shoulder. The cat boy flinched a bit since he wasn't so used to this.

"I got rejected today, Chat," she started off, placing her hands on her lap

"By whom?" He raised a brow

"He's nobody now," she replied, "because now, I see someone else. Someone else I might be interested in."

"And who might that be, my Lady?" He asked

Miss Fortune's hand snaked towards his, playfully linking the fingers. Chat watched as Ladybug did this, a blush playing on his face.

"Chat do you love me?" She looked at his face, squeezing his hand just a little bit

"Well, to put it lightly, yes." He nodded

"Would you do anything for me?" She asked

"And what might that be, Bugaboo?"

"I'm going to take your miraculous."

"What?"

"Just kidding." Miss Fortune grinned, "But what is it anyway?"

"My miraculous? Oh it's my ring," Chat Noir answered, flipping their hands over so his would come on top to show the black ring with the green paw

" _Yes, Miss Fortune! Bring me his miraculous!"_

"You wouldn't mind if I looked at it, right?" Miss Fortune asked

"It's no big deal," Chat answered

Miss Fortune brought their entwined hands closer to her face. She used her other hand to slowly slide it off his finger when-.

"You know, I rejected this girl earlier, I told her that she was better off with someone else," he told her, "and that I like someone already."

"Wait, what did you say was the girl's name again?" Miss Fortune asked

"Marinette,"

 _Marinette._ That made her blood boil. Since she only admitted her crush on one person that day, then it meant that this guy, this one guy sitting next to her was Adrien Agreste. She could feel anger surging through her veins. He rejected her. He _hurt_ her. And he was going to pay.

She tried to slide the ring off but Chat had already taken his hand back.

"Whoa, whoa, my Lady, what's with this?" He held his hand with the ring protectively, bringing it away from her

"Give me your miraculous, Adrien, or you will suffer the consequences!" Miss Fortune glared at him

"My Lady, wh-, are you akumatized?" He stood up, "What's going on? What happened to you? Snap out of it, Ladybug!"

Miss Fortune stalked closer to him. Chat Noir pulled his baton out.

"I'm not afraid of fighting you," he spoke

"Aw but, chaton." She smiled that familiar smile that Ladybug always showed to Chat, "I'm still Ladybug."

"I, I don't care!" Chat yelled, "You're akumatized, my Lady, and I'm gonna find a way to cleanse the akuma."

"And how are you gonna do that, kitty?" She put a hand on her waist, smirking at him, "You're not exactly the creator here. You're the destroyer. And Ladybug is not here anymore! I'm Miss Fortune and I am going to rule over Paris once and for all! Soon, Chloé will never get to bully me and you," she glared at him then pointed harshly, "you, Adrien Agreste, will never break my heart again."

"M-Marinette?" He furrowed his brows, stepping back

"Marinette's not here either." She snarled

Before Miss Fortune made her way to him, he already jumped down the tower. Knowing Ladybug, she can, and she had proved, that she can throw him off it. He waited on the ground for her. If this really was Marinette, then where was Ladybug now? Was she lying that she was Ladybug? Or was she really Ladybug?

"Chat Noir!" He could hear the familiar voice of a friend and he turned to see that friend, "Oh thank goodness I found you! My friend was so upset earlier and didn't want to let us in her room. Now her parents entered and she wasn't there! Chat I'm afraid that she's akumatized!"

A figure dropped down in front of them.

"Marinette!" Alya gasped, "Oh no, Mari."

"I'm not Marinette. I'm Miss Fortune." Miss Fortune turned to see her red haired friend, "You better get out of here, Alya, this isn't going to look good."

"No, no you're not going to fight, Chat." Alya spoke then turned to the hero, "Where's Ladybug?"

Chat Noir ran a hand through his hair, getting frustrated with each passing second. If _this_ really was Ladybug then where was her kwami? How was he going cleanse her now? And how was he going to fight someone who has shown the strength that she had? And she was a miraculous holder, for Pete's sake, how can he even fight?

"I-I, Alya, that's," he pulled his friend back, "I'll explain later. Right now, I want you to clear the area."

"But Chat-,"

"Just go!"

Alya jumped slightly at the tone, not used to Chat's demanding tone. She made the people walk farther away from the two and immediately called the police. They might not help stop the fight but they can manage the people.

"So, chaton, ready to give up?" She played with her yoyo, bringing it down then up, "You know, I can try not to give you to Hawkmoth if you just give up."

"You know too well that Hawkmoth doesn't need us," Chat Noir replied, "My Lady, let the akuma go."

"And why should I do that?" She raised a brow

"Cause you'd rather be partners with me?" Chat answered, unsure

"Ha! You? _You're_ the reason why I'm like this, Adrien!" She yelled, making sure that at least some people around would hear

"I said I'm sorry, Marinette. And if it would help, Ladybug was the one I liked!" Chat Noir was going to plead if it was the only cure to get the akuma out

He knew that she could still push the akuma out, having seen it with a few villains in the past year. If she had just the right amount of will power to fight with Hawkmoth that is and Chat trusted Ladybug to have that.

She stood there in silence for a while.

"Well where's the apology from Chloé? Don't give yourself all the credit, you're only half the reason," Miss Fortune replied

"I'm gonna get her to apologize, I promise then you'd be back Marinette?"

"Too late," she announced then swung her yoyo to his

Chat had his baton ready and placed it in front of himself, the yoyo tangling itself with the baton. Both pulled back and Chat stood still while Miss Fortune walked in slow circles around him.

"This is starting to be silly," she said, "You could still team up with me and be, I dunno, Chat Blanc? We'll be unstoppable then."

"Yes we still can," he retorted, "But we're Ladybug and Chat Noir, my Lady. Just that duo."

She shrugged, "Oh well, too bad. Let's not keep this too long now."

She swung her yoyo to him again and his baton was ready once more, only this time, he wasn't ready when she pulled back with his baton. It had sent him tumbling down in front of her, not wanting to let go of his weapon.

"You needed this, Chaton?" She waved the baton in her arms

He laid there on the ground, dumbfounded, when Miss Fortune raised the baton then break it in half using her right knee.

"Oh, no kwami." She chuckled, "Next item!"

He could hear the faint gasp of the people then his weapon hit the ground, a few green sparks between the once joined item. He kneeled on the ground, watching his broken weapon.

This wasn't possible. Their weapons were indestructable. It couldn't have had broken.

"I'm still a miraculous holder," Miss Fortune answered as if reading his thoughts, "We both are, only, I'm stronger this time. I'm still giving you the chance, Chat, all or nothing."

All or nothing. That was true. If he gave the ring up, he lost and so did Paris and maybe he'd be a henchman for Hawkmoth. But if he didn't, he'd still lose because there wasn't a way that the akuma could be cleansed.

She smirked towards him, seeing the confused expression on his face.

"What do you say?" She asked, crouching down in front of him

"I-,"

If he held her earrings, her Kwami would cease to exist. If he touched her weapon, she could just let it go then he still failed. If he touched.

"I'm sorry, Marinette," he spoke, "Cataclysm!"

Miss Fortune's eyes went wide. She jumped up and walked a few ways away from him.

"You're lucky I don't have Lucky Charm," she snarled

He grabbed her arm with his clean hand to steady her, "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not."

He led her towards the direction of Master Fu's home. He entered, Cataclysm still intact.

"Master Fu, Ladybug's been amumatized!" He called then the small old man appeared from the hall

He led the teens down to the room where he held all of his things.

"Where do you suppose is her akuma?" Master Fu asked

"In her earrings but her kwami's in there too," Chat answered

Master Fu frowned, "You know too well that you have to break the object before the akuma comes out. If you get both of her earrings, her kwami will come out, but the akuma wouldn't. You have to break the earring before cleansing it."

"But that means that she can't be Ladybug anymore," Chat replied

Master Fu solemnly nodded.

"Do I even have a choice here?" He furrowed his brows

If he was confused earlier, he was even more now. She couldn't be Ladybug anymore and her kwami wouldn't exist. It seemed like he just killed Chat Noir's other half then.

Miss Fortune wriggled in his grasp then forced him down to the ground, her on top.

"If you think you won, think again," Miss Fortune said then placed his hand with the power to her face

Chat's eyes went wide as he saw his power slowly destroy her.

"M-My Lady, I didn't mean to-."

"I had no choice," he could hear desperation. Desperation that sounded an awful lot like Marinette, "I'm sorry, Adrien. If I die, Hawkmoth will release the akuma." She threw her earrings to the table

She felt intense pain sear her. So this was what it felt like to hit Cataclysm. She felt every part of her slowly and painfully rotting and killing itself from inside out.

She yelled out loud to the night as hot tears traced down her face. She then felt a body pressed to hers. Like a hug. She felt it shaking.

"Master Fu, please help,"

She knew he couldn't help. He was the Guardian but he wasn't the reverser of Cataclysm attacks. Another pounding pain attacked, this time her heart.

She felt herself detransform back to Marinette, the akuma must've been released. They won.

"We won," Marinette whispered weakly before wincing in pain once more, "We won, Chat."

She didn't quite feel her feet anymore which was formerly searing in pain. Then it was the pain in her stomach that had subsided. Until the feeling had lost then… then there was nothing.

There was nothing Chat was clinging onto. No trance of anything but the air. He cried out loudly about how he didn't mean it about how sorry he was. He felt his detransformation happening then he was Adrien.

And Marinette was gone. All because of him.

"I'm so sorry." He curled up to a ball, crying his heart out

•••

They had just finished an akuma attack and he was exihilerated. He raised his fist up, waiting for the other fist and the 'Bien joue!' only it never came.

He looked around then frowned. He was so used to having Ladybug around. He travelled all the way to their ledge on the Eiffel Tower as if assuming that she would be there.

But like any other night, she wasn't.

 _"We'd always be partners, right, minou?"_ she once asked

He had grinned at her and said, " _Of course, my Lady."_

 _I lied_.

Telling Alya the news broke his heart. Not only did she lose her idol but she also lost her best friend, the best friend who was always there. Not it looked odd when he saw Alya all alone, like a missing part of her wasn't there.

Telling her parents was worse. They'd lost their only child. The child who tried so hard to love them. They admitted to him that they didn't know how they'd continue.

He told them that she was Ladybug. He told them how her memory would live on. He told them how she was akumatized and that she had sacrificed her own life to protect Paris for the last time.

Chat squeezed his eyes shut, letting the tears fall down.

Everytime his eyes closed, he would see her face when she told him that they'd won. Yes, they won. But at what cost?

Chloé mourned for Ladybug's death, claiming that it should have been other people who had died, not her. She told Marinette's parents how sorry she was when she visited Marinette's wake.

He felt guilty. He had to visit both her wake and memorial and it was as heartbreaking as the other. He blamed himself for her death. There could've been another way to win not like this. This was a heavy burden to carry, not like winning because they had extracted the evil out. She could've fought it but maybe she was in on it too long. He didn't blame her. He blamed himself.

Now he watched where Ladybug used to always sit, by the end of the ledge, resting her head on the nearby metal, just admiring the city at its grandeur.

He could imagine her there. Her bright blue eyes content on seeing her city safe. Her hair playing with the wind.

" _We'd always be partners, right, minou?"_ she would ask

"Always."


End file.
